Fathers
by EFev
Summary: Burt Hummel and Blaine's father have a heart-to-heart. Set during the second half of season three. The continuation with Chapter 2 is up! Thanks for the support :)
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I have read so many "abusive Mr. Anderson" stories that I decided to take a different route. I always had this idea that Blaine's relationship with his father was completely based around a total lack of communication and inability to connect. I mean, a father is who is willing to pull his son out of school and shell out thousands of dollars for private school tuition just so his son can be safe, can't be that terrible right?_

The bell above the front door of Hummel Tires and Lube jingled as a suited man in his fifties entered the shop. He somewhat hesitantly approached the receptionist.

"I'm looking for a Burt Hummel."

She nodded and smiled, "Lemme check if he's free. Take a seat, if you'd like."

A short time passed when Burt emerged in the front office, yelling over his shoulder at Finn to finish the oil change. He turned to face the man in front of him, and congenially held his hand out.

"Burt Hummel, what can I do you for?"

The man smiled kindly and shook his hand firmly.

"Michael Anderson."

Burt took in his tailored suit, high cheekbones, defined eyebrows, and dark hair lightly peppered with gray.

"Blaine's father?" he ventured. Michael nodded.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you. I take it you aren't here for work on your car?"

Mr. Anderson chuckled. "Nope, can't say that I am," he said, his voice laced with a hint of anxiety. "Um, do you mind if we speak in private?"

Burt furrowed his eyebrows. "Yes of course. Here, come this way."

He led Blaine's father into his adjacent office and closed the door behind them. He gestured to the chair placed in front of his desk and they both took a seat.

"I'm sorry if you take this the wrong way, but you aren't at all what I expected."

Burt laughed boisterously. "Yeah, I tend to get that a lot. Congressman, mechanic, Kurt's father; people are never really sure what to expect."

There was a small pause before Michael cleared his throat.

"Well, I don't really know how to gracefully breach the subject, so I guess I'm just gonna have to dive in." He reached into his briefcase and pulled out a box of condoms, placing them on the desk between them. "My wife found these in my son's room last night."

Burt sighed heavily and reached for the box, toying with the torn-open top. "Well, this is news to me...though I can't say I' m all that surprised."

"Kurt doesn't talk to you about this kind of stuff?"

"I had to practically put him in a straight jacket to have 'the Talk' with him. I had hoped he'd come to me with something like this, but I guess I can't force him until he's ready."

Michael shifted uneasily. "Blaine and I have never, you know, discussed this. We actually rarely discuss anything..."

"Yeah, he's mentioned that you two aren't the best at communicating," Burt replied cautiously.

Michael sighed and leaned back in his chair. "I'm sure Blaine didn't put it as nicely."

Burt smiled. "Blaine puts _everything_ nicely."

Michael laughed lightly, relaxing in his chair. "He just always speaks so highly of your relationship with Kurt. I mean, I can't tell you how many times I've had that thrown in my face, loudly and usually followed by a slamming door."

"It took Kurt and I a long time to get to this point," Burt said with a sigh. "And I won't lie to you, it wasn't easy. It still isn't easy. But, no matter how different we are, it's my job to accept him completely as he is. And now that he knows that, the lines of communication are much easier to navigate."

"I don't think Blaine thinks I accept him."

"I don't think he does either. Do you?" Burt ventured, careful to not insult him.

"Of course I do, he's my son. I mean...it certainly hasn't been easy but I'm not a bigot."

Michael paused, his posture deflating. "I was just so afraid for him. After he, you know… came out, all of his old friends abandoned him. He was constantly bullied at school. Not even just names, physically too. My wife and I tried to talk to the school, and I supposed they acknowledged what was happening but nothing really changed. It felt like it got worse. And I'll admit...part of me just wished he wasn't really gay. Maybe, he was just unsure of himself and he would realize he was straight and all of this would stop for him."

"Blaine told me he thinks you tried to make him straight."

"I just wanted him to be happy. I thought maybe if we did some traditional, father-son things together, he would be less fodder for all those guys he went to school with. We carted Cooper to dance and voice lessons and piano too but he never seemed to have a problem with the other kids at school." He paused. "There is nothing more terrifying than getting a call telling you your little boy is in the hospital. He was so little, smaller than he is now…broken ribs, bruises everywhere. I was so angry with everyone. Angry at the kids who did it, angry at the people who didn't stop it, angry at Blaine for not listening to my concern and going to that dance with that boy anyway, angry at myself."

Burt nodded sympathetically, incredibly grateful he never had to live through something like that but knowing full well he could have.

"Well, Blaine's a resilient kid. So is Kurt. And now they have each other to lean on."

Both men eyed the box of the condoms on the desk between them.

"Kurt…Kurt is a good kid." Michael said, averting his eyes away from the box and looking at Burt. "He seems to make Blaine really happy and I didn't think he'd find that in Lima."

"That makes two of us," Burt said, leaning forward to rest his elbows and clasped hands on the desk. "Blaine saved Kurt's life. That may be unfair to Kurt to say that but I honestly don't want to think about where Kurt would be right now if it hadn't been for Blaine. You raised a really great son. I want you to know that."

Michael smiled broadly with a flash of the same bit of self-deprecation that was so similar to Blaine; Burt couldn't help but grin as well.

"Thank you. I'm glad to hear he's been on his best behavior," he said good naturedly.

Burt barked out a laugh. "The day Blaine isn't on his best behavior is the day Hell will freeze over. He'll probably be calling me 'Mr. Hummel' or 'sir' for the rest of his life."

They smiled at each other, both fathers secretly aware that the "rest of his life" was probably going to be true.

Michael cleared his throat and gestured to the condoms. "What do you think we…what should I do about this?"

Burt pursed his lips and settled back in his seat. "Kurt knows the rules at our house. I remember was it was like to be an eighteen-year-old kid but I'm certainly going to have a conversation with him, make sure he isn't breaking the rules. I guess it depends what type of regulations you want to make in your home."

Michael paled at the prospect of having to confront Blaine about sex. And not just hypothetical sex. Actual sex that was actually happening. In his house. Michael wasn't even quite aware how two boys had sex. Well, he had a vague idea but not logistically. Burt seemed to sense his unease.

"Just try to be honest and understanding. You might be surprised how he reacts," Burt advised calmly. "I told Kurt to remember he matters and it matters. And I'm positive with Blaine, whatever it is they're doing, matters to both of them."

Michael nodded numbly and grabbed the box of condoms, placing them back in his briefcase. He smiled at Burt gratefully and extending his hand. "Thank you, I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. You're, uh, much better at this fathering thing than I seem to be."

Burt waved his hand through the air dismissively and took his hand and shook it, "As far as I'm concerned, you couldn't have done any better. I'm really, really glad you came by. We should all have dinner some time. Kurt's the chef in the family, I'm sure he would love to throw some kind of dinner party.

"We would love that," Michael said. "Thank you. Really." Burt could tell he was saying thank you for much more than a dinner invitation.

"If you ever need anything, just let me know. Our kids are pretty attached, we may have to put up with each other for a while."

"I hope so."

(Considering writing a sequel with Blaine's talk with his father. Anybody want that?)


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Jeeeeez, my e-mail was flooded today in response to my first chapter. What is happening?! I'm so glad you guys liked it. Then I got a flash of brilliance I suppose and whipped out a sequel really quickly. I guess I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do anyway. Thanks for all the responses!_

The entire drive home from Hummel Tires and Lube, Michael Anderson tried to psyche himself up for what he was about to do. It had to be done. He hoped something good would come out of this talk with Blaine, but his attempts at connecting with his son in the past hadn't exactly had the long-term effects he had hoped for. And this wasn't camping or installing a carburetor in a car, this was sex. Sex with another boy. He couldn't help but feel guilty about how simple this situation had been with Cooper (well maybe not simple, Cooper was well-versed with most of the cheerleaders by the end of high school) and how…_not_ simple this appears to be with Blaine. But Blaine was different than Coop. He was more sensitive and less crass, he gave everyone the benefit of the doubt and Michael had always been fearful that his demeanor might make him a target to be taken advantage of. Not that he was worried about Kurt taking advantage of Blaine by any means, and not that he assumed gay men were predatory but…well, he honestly had no idea how to go about this. It was going to be awkward and Blaine's flair for being dramatic probably wouldn't help. But if Burt had to strap Kurt down and have a conversation, so would he.

He settled himself in the kitchen, placing the condom box in front of him on the large island. He knew Blaine would be home from glee practice any minute now. Anita was attending a baby shower after work and Blaine was usually good about asking permission for Kurt or other friends to come over and Michael hadn't gotten any word from Blaine or his wife today about it, so he was confident Blaine would be alone.

Five minutes later he heard the front door open, feeling silly about his heart rate picking up dramatically as he heard footsteps bound up the stairs.

"Blaine!" Michael called out. The footsteps stopped.

"Dad?"

"Would you mind coming into the kitchen?"

He sensed Blaine's hesitation as he heard him descend the stairs and make his way towards the kitchen.

"What are you doing home so early?" Blaine strode into the kitchen to find his dad leaning against the island and- oh shit. Blaine came to a dead halt, shifting his eyes between his father and the box on the counter.

"Dad, I—" Michael held his hand up.

"Just sit," he said, attempting to come across as calm. The last thing he wanted was for Blaine to shut him out before they started.

Blaine seemed panicky, but he slid on to the bar stool and dejectedly stared at the granite in front of him.

"I'm not mad."

Blaine's head shot up, his eyes wide with shock and a little bit of fear. "You're not?"

"No. I was… I was eighteen once too. I know…what it's like," Michael said, internally kicking himself for being so inarticulate. Blaine blushed furiously and immediately averted his eyes. Michael heard him mutter, "I can't believe this is happening" under his breath.

"Well, this is happening, okay. So, let's at least be men about this." Michael figured the tough love that come to define their relationship the past few years wouldn't hurt. "I did this with Cooper, and I'll do it with you."

Blaine furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah, but that was different! You just patted Coop on the back and said 'Good work, son.'" He sarcastically lowered his voice. "You don't know anything about me or anything about Kurt. You don't understand anything."

"Blaine, stop being ridiculous. I took it just as seriously with Coop as I do with you. Is it a little different? Absolutely. But we still need to talk about this."

"Why? I already know everything!" Regret and embarrassment flashed across Blaine's face immediately.

"Blaine," Michael stated sternly. "I'm not here to teach you, we're here to learn from each other."

That seemed to embarrass Blaine more and he rolled his eyes (A common occurrence during their conversations nowadays).

"Just admit it, Dad," Blaine said, crossing his arms. "You hate that I'm gay."

"That's not true."

"Right."

"I don't hate that you're gay, Blaine. I hate that being gay hurt you."

Michael noticed Blaine's face soften and he slowly uncrossed his arms. "And I'm sorry."

Blaine squeezed his lips together, his eyes meeting Michael's across the counter.

"I'm sorry we didn't talk about this sooner. And I'm sorry we haven't been as close as you wanted us to be. Or as I wanted us to be," Michael sighed. "Look, it did take me a little while to accept that you wouldn't be bringing girlfriends to dinner and you're right, I'll never understand what it's like to be attracted to a man, but I never wanted to make you straight, I just… "

"Who told you I thought that?"

"Well, when I went to go see Kurt's father today about this, he mentioned—," Blaine nearly fell out of his chair.

"You WHAT?" Blaine frantically leaped off the stool. "Oh my god, oh my god…he's going to kill me. He'll hate me. Oh my god, Kurt will be in so much trouble..."

Michael was secretly a little pleased his son's boyfriend's father had managed to intimidate him so much. "Blaine, calm down. He doesn't hate you."

"Dad! Why would you do that? That's private!" Blaine shouted hysterically.

"Young man, it is not private if it's happening under my roof!" That shut up Blaine immediately. He craned his neck back with an annoyed huff before retaking his seat by the counter.

"You boys aren't in trouble unless you've been breaking the Hummel's rules." Michael noticed Blaine bite his lip slightly and shift his eyes. Well, Burt would just have to deal with that situation, he thought. "So… let's chat."

Blaine's face seemed to grow redder and redder with each passing second. "What do you want to know?" he asked sheepishly.

"How long have you two been…you know." So much for being articulate, Michael thought.

"November."

Michael nodded. Though he would never admit it to Blaine, he was mildly impressed with how long they managed to not be found out. God knows his parents caught him the backseat of a car one too many times back in the day. "And that's when you guys did…it."

"This is so embarrassing."

"Just answer my question."

"Not _it_, but _things_, yeah."

"Oh, so you never did anything until last fall?"

"No."

"I guess that explains all the showers..."

"Oh my god, DAD!"

Blaine looked close to nauseous. Michael was kind of reveling in his ability to put Blaine on edge, desperately trying not to laugh at his son's discomfort with the situation. He decided he'd somehow make it up to him later.

"So when did you do it?" he said. Blaine blinked at him.

"Like sex." Michael continued.

Blaine just shook his head. "Dad, it's always sex if we…"

"No, I mean like penetration."

Blaine's eyes widened comically in pure mortification. If Michael thought he looked nauseous before, he looked ghost white now.

"I literally cannot believe my father just said the word 'penetration' to me," Blaine murmured, dumfounded. He groaned and slumped his shoulders. "We didn't do that until January."

Blaine's eyes snapped up. "Please, please don't ask for specifics," he begged. "Just Google it or something."

"I know how it works, Blaine."

Blaine stared incredulously at his father. Michael rubbed the back of his neck and waved his hand vaguely. "I mean I know _where_ things go. I guess I don't know how but…"

Blaine groaned and cradled his head in hands on the counter. "Dad. Seriously. I can't take this. Why do bad things happen to good people?" he whined into his arms.

"Okay, okay." Michael reached forward and pried Blaine hands off his head. "I have no idea where you and Coop got this drama queen gene from."

He pushed Blaine into a sitting position. "I was kind of torturing you for a bit there." He smiled slyly. "On purpose."

Blaine laughed lightly into his lap. Michael couldn't remember the last time they had shared a moment like this, just the two of them, and by the look on Blaine's face, he could tell Blaine couldn't remember either. Michael wasn't entirely sure when his little boy turned into the young man sitting in front of him. Blaine hadn't really grown as tall as they expected, but he had a days growth of stubble showing on his jaw and his shoulders were broad and defined, plus Blaine's way of wearing his hair made him appear much older than he was. It all seemed to hit Michael at once that in a year, Blaine would be leaving. Probably to New York City since that's where Kurt will end up, and the house will be empty for the first time in almost three decades.

"Son, in all seriousness. I know doing stuff like that is fun and all, but it also means something." He paused. "Or, It _should_ mean something."

Blaine's eyes lit up and he smiled. "It does. It always does."

"Yeah, I know," Michael conceded. Blaine cocked his head slightly. "I know I don't know Kurt as well as I should or as well as I would like, but you'd have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to not notice you really care about each other."

"Dad, it's like way beyond… we love each other."

"Good. I didn't ever think you'd find that here in Ohio, nice to know it can happen."

Blaine smiled goofily, his eyes hazing over dreamily. "Me neither."

"You know all that physical stuff is just way better when there's love involved," Michael said, hoping to drive the nail in. He really didn't want Blaine to get hurt. Blaine nodded.

"I know Mom and I travel a lot for work, so I trust you to be safe and respectful." Blaine's jaw-dropped, and it occurred to Michael he practically just gave his son permission to have sex. "But, Blaine. If I find out, so help me God, anything happens while your mother or I are in this house or if anything happens at the Hummel's that is against their rules, I will take that bedroom door off the hinges and never ever give it back. Even when you're thirty and come home to visit."

Blaine nodded excitedly. "Yes sir, I promise. I swear."

"Okay… so you're excused. I'm sure you need to call Kurt and make sure he wasn't skinned alive by Burt." Blaine flashed him a worried look. "Don't act coy, I can tell you two did something at the Hummel's. You're a terrible liar," Michael said with a cock of the eyebrow. Blaine gulped audibly and dashed out of the kitchen only to run back in a few seconds later.

"Thanks Dad." Blaine smiled genuinely and his eyes were shining a little. He lingered for a second, unsure of how exactly to act around his dad now that they've connected more than he can remember. Michael took a step forward and opened his arms, pulling Blaine into a tight hug. He took in the smell of his cologne and hair gel, things that he supposes a young man would smell like, not a little boy. Blaine squeezed tighter before releasing and smiling broadly at him. Michael cleared his throat and grasped his son's shoulder. "Well, I guess I'll have to tell you really embarrassing stories about Cooper to make up for this, right?"


End file.
